A tribute to and catalogue of the works of Alexander "Hugin" Wieser, founder of ambient black metal band Uruk Hai and many other side-projects, including Hrossharsgrani, Hrefnesholt, Elisabetha, B-Machina, Ceremony of Innocence and more!
Here you will find my thoughts on his work and details on the releases as drawn from items in my personal collection, forming a fuller catalogue of his work than is currently available elsewhere online

Saturday, 17 October 2015

ÜBER DIE NEBELBERGE WEIT... - Master CD

Band:URUK HAITitle: Über Die Nebelberge Weit...Reason for update: This is the master CDr of the 2013 release, prepared by Hugin for the Depressive Illusion label official release in 2013 (cat ref cut1216) Format: A CDr release, with yellow and black artwork rather than the full colour presentation of the final release. Track details and overall design remain the same as the 2013 pressing.Edition: 1 copy

Today's coverage of this Master CDr of "Über Die Nebelberge Weit" adds nothing particularly new to add to the existing review of this excellent Uruk Hai release on Depressive Illusions, but for completeness it's nice to recognise its existence in the ever expanding Honour and Darkness collection.

The Depressive Illusions version came out in a small edition of only 33 copies in 2013, which did seem a very small number for what was - and remains - and excellent album, compiling as it does all of Hugin's 'Misty Mountain' themed tracks from 2004. This disc - the Master copy - was essentially the final version of the album prepared by Hugin for the label to duplicate and distribute on the official release, so is the same other than the 'draft' printing employed on the cover, and a plain silver CDr being used rather than the final picture disc.

There are a couple of points to note, which evaded the original Honour and Darkness review. Firstly, the spine of the CD (for both this and the official release) actually bears the rather longer title "Über Die Nebelberge Weit, Von Ländern Tief, Aus Alter Zeit", which broadly translates as 'Of The Far Misty Mountains, From Countries Deep & Times Past'. This is shorted on the front cover to "Über Die Nebelberge Weit..." and then simply to "Nebelberge" on the rear inlay.

Secondly, on the rear inlay the text '(Eine Weitere Ode An Die Macht Der Natur)' appears; a sub-title meaning 'Another ode to the power of Nature'.

To end this post, let's consider the wider 'family' group surrounding this release, which is somewhat extended family due to there being two distinct versions of the same-named demo, plus reissues of both within different box-sets. To begin, we can identify the original demo from 2000 (containing different songs, contemporary to that period) and the associated tape release of that demo, which was called "Elbenwald".

Then we have the 2014 Depressive Illusions CD, plus its Master CDr, containing the track listing detailed in this post. Adding to the fun is the addition of "Everlasting Wrath Of The Tyrant", the 6CD box-set which included the 2000 version of the release (and which also expanded it slightly by adding the song 'Moria'), and "Across The Misty Mountains (Far, Far Away)" which compiled the songs under a different flag back in 2006. Oh, and which came in both CD and tape pressing too!

If that wasn't complicated enough, one has to remember that there is an actual song going by the same title that features on a number of other demos too, including "Valkyrian Romance" and the epic box-set "Courage Is Found In Unlikely Places". 'Nebelberge (Kapital 7 & 8)' also pop up on the Bulgarian "We Worship (Volume 2)" compilation album too, just for the record! And if that's not starting to make your head spin, try factoring in the fact that 'Über Die Nebelberge Weit...' appears as a different song on the Hrossharsgrani demo "Lieder Aus Mittelerde" too, so we're starting to mix bands now, not just releases by Uruk Hai!

However, let's consider this latter branch of the family as distant cousins and move on rapidly, otherwise we'll end up with half of Nazgul's collection being pictured here by dint of tenuous connectivity!